Where is that proof on the thermodynamics of heaven and hell? Oh, look, I’ve typed out the search terms. Funny that!
And over to Snopes, doing the work of … many, with multiple conflicting results. I like the application of the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the chemistry of sulphur to demonstrate that “temperature of heaven, 525°C. Temperature of hell, less than 445°C.”

it appears that nbc thinks that Faith is a “flame-retardant” So is that what Trump wanted to be dropped on the church from the world famous Fox and Friends Flying tankers?????? There is no problem that Trump wont “tweet-a-fix” for……Too bad Trump did not summon his SPACE FORCE to put out the fire with a “faith-ray”

We’ll know we’ve made real progress when some tv correspondent has the gumption to say, “If there is a deity, allowing Notre Dame burn appears to be circumstantial evidence he/she/it isn’t Catholic. Live from Paris, back to you, Lester.”

Ha…God burnt down Notre Dame as punishment to the Pope for his wishy washy handling of the pedophle crisis. Note: He saved all of the artifacts and the organ. God had to have intervened as the candles on the alter were not melted even though there was a very hot fire in front of them.

There must be some kind of condescending appeasement toward religion upheld as a standard among large news organizations. Management reminds newscasters at the end of the yearly meeting that 75% say they are Christians. Let’s not blow it.

I wish that were true. Sadly, I think Christian religion is so embedded in culture as a way to virtue signal your goodness, that people just can’t stop themselves. They’re the equivalent of kids who scorned you with, “you’re not going to get any presents from Santa” simply for changing the lyrics to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” to “Santa Clause is Going to Bite Your Bum”. Hey – it got big laughs in grade 1!

As there always are (atheists everywhere biting their tongues). I’d be the worst presenter. Besides not being perky, I’d end up in a clip on John Oliver for saying something inappropriate or getting caught on camera making a “ugh” face.

Far too many reporters produce completely credulous pieces supporting antivaccination and/or alternative medicine for me to believe journalists are intellectual “non-believer” types. They go in for pure woo far too often to get that much credit.

It will be interesting to see how the repairs and reconstruction are financed. Obviously, the cathedral draws a lot of tourist euros into Paris, but, at the end of the day, the building is a church which, I presume, is owned by the Church. Will the secular government of France candidly describe their investment in reconstruction as an economic choice to derive more tourist dollars from believers?

It has already been pointed out that all cathedrals in France are owned by the French government, with smaller churches owned by municipal governments. A strange system, but the Catholic Church is just a tenant at Notre Dame.

Not really strange since you have the strict separation of church and state in France (unlike the UK, or even Germany!). So the Church cannot act as a land-owner, and it solves the problem of keeping up church buildings by the government.

Priorities seem to be a problem here. So much money is wasted on things that don’t really do a lick of good for a healthy world future. I’m all for rebuilding, but how about matching funds…every euro spent on the cathedral is matched for helping other social problems France faces? Money…

Yes, that is a strange, but common phenomenon. Patients thank the “Father” after a successful difficult operation, instead of thanking the surgeon and his/her extensive training and years of experience.
And when a surgeon has the guts to point that out, they will say “But it was the Lord who blessed -or even guided- your hands”.
You simply can’t win.

Some did! You will be surprised by the numbers of Catholics who take all this religious nonsense serious! Fortunately the number of Catholics is decreasing, but the superstition among the remainers is increasing. The same is true for the other Abrahamic religions, they all are turning more conservative.

Well, there is some evidence linking the Cyprian cult of proto-Aphrodite with parallel tales of a Babylonian goddess. And there are (to my eye) also archaeological parallels between Cyprian “cult-statues” of proto-Aphrodite and a class of early Fertile Crescent statues known as Kilia figurines. Basically, there is form for such transfers, and while the individual cases may not be as watertight as Utnapishtim’s Ark, a modus operandi does emerge.
Which doesn’t make the Greek-Babylonian thing in the least bit unique. Fertility goddesses the world over tend towards the bum and tit. People talk to their neighbours ; ideas diffuse ; occasionally trader-types come along and travel further than normal (how did Shetland or Alpine soapstone non-utilitarian artefacts get to Southern England?)
The unusual thing about the Greeks and Babylonians is that they used writing.

According to e report in this morning’s Guardian, the cathedral was within 15-30 minutes of complete destruction, as the flames spread towards the wooden frameworks within the two bell towers. It was saved by the courage and tenacity of the firefighters, who put their own lives at risk to keep the fire away from the towers:

The Romans had concrete. Most people forgot it some time after the fall of the Western empire (volcanic ash from Pozzolano on the outskirts of modern Naples was an important component in Roman recipes, particularly ones that set in sea water). It started to come back into use through the 16th and 17th centuries. By the time of the substantial rebuilding work on Notre Dame in the 19th century, it was common enough, though expensive because of the fuel required to make it.

The frequency of use of concretes increased from near zero in the 14th century to being unremarkable by the early 19th century. The use of slaked lime mortar was probably never forgotten by masons, but the cost (in several senses – getting a speck of quicklime in your eye is an experience you’ll remember) of making lime mortar is non-trivial, which is why ashlar masonry has much thinner mortar courses than brickwork. Of course, bricks themselves are almost as fuel-hungry as mortars, so the appearance of brick as a major construction material in the early 1500s-ish also marks a significant step up in industrial consumption of fuel.
Not all limestones are particularly pure, but if you’re making lime-mortar, you use what is close to hand. If your limestone (from that pit, there) is moderately clay rich, with the right sort of clay, and you burn it to make mortar and get a particularly strong mortar … you’re going down the pathway which leads to developing concretes. For a mason working on this site, then moving on to the next site with a different lime source, you’ll probably not be particularly bothered. If you get to the point of specialising in making mortar in one area (supplying several masons) you’re going to get much more bothered by it – et voila, some people start making concrete.
The church had multiple episodes of patching throughout that time, with there being a big one in the early 19th century.
Most of these big places are in almost continuous patching up from the day after the acceptance signature from the client to the opening ceremony and stay like that forever after.
As, indeed, Notre Dame is – on the continuum from soldering a patch in the lead to excavating new foundations.

I have a wonderful family recipie fruitcake in the fridge. I’m always tempted to indulge in it’s succulent sweetness, but restrain myself heroically until there’s a special occasion where I can share it with friends.

The website https://www.barelyedible.co.uk/is also a crazy delight. I bookmarked it. The UK has a surfeit of odd and phenomenally revolting canned and boxed food products. Most of those disgusting delectables that the man tasted were so gross as to make me retch just reading his comments and seeing the photos.

Interesting that Mr. Brains Faggots in sauce fared the best in taste of meat products, such as Westlers Canned Hamburgers, and Goblin Meat & Gravy Pudding. He thought the faggots tasted pretty good, especially with the sauce.

I notice that the final taste test for products that even he can’t stomach without heaving is to offer them to his dog and cats. The dog will eat anything; the cats are the final arbiters and insofar as I can determine, they have evolved taste buds and won’t touch any of that slop.

Poorly trained cats. Almost tautologous, that.
Does EN_US do brawn … or isn’t the “euphemism” headcheese. Yes, I thought so.You probably don’t want to know what “headcheese” means in much EN_GB, but it’s certainly not a delicious pork product. Brawn, on the other hand, will put hair on your chest. Whether you want it or not.
I’ve tried to explain down at the Polish Deli, but they can’t seem to find a supplier of some of the more “challenging” Scandinavian delicacies. Or maybe they don’t want to find one?
You won’t be surprised to learn that I’m typing this while watching a programme called “Dissected – The Incredible Human Hand”, and they’re just getting onto the muscles of the thumb and I’m feeling quite peckish.
The literature of “survival cannibalism” (arctic explorers, plane crashes, that sort of thing) talks of a quite specific sequence in which people eat bits off bodies. For unsurprising reasons, they tend to start on less recognisable bits – buttocks, hams – before they get onto bits like the head or hands which people have to struggle to deny the identity of.
It is definitely lunchtime!

“Iceland Doner Kebab Pizza, a fusion food nightmare for a quid” Ohhh, where is my nearest Iceland. That is almost worth a trip to the pub, to appreciate in it’s full inadequately-cooked gory.
No, that wasn’t a typo.